Workshop on Navigating & Feeling Boundaries and Boundary Crossing

In line with our 2024 plan of spreading the word on Boundary Crossing (BC), members of the BC@WUR team recently conducted two workshops, one in an external workshop at the University of Hasselt, and another internally, at a WUR Lunch Inspiration Session (organized by TLC).

Our workshop series, titled "Navigating & Feeling Boundaries: A workshop on boundaries and boundary crossing," was designed to foster a deeper understanding of boundary crossing (BC) while nurturing connections with teachers, staff, and stakeholders in alignment with our motto for this year: "Feeling Boundary Crossing."

The workshop introduces participants to the Boundary Crossing theory, including an overview of the learning mechanisms involved, and also presents some practical examples of BC at Wageningen University & Research (WUR). Following this, participants are invited to reflect on the boundaries present in their own courses or contexts. The session concludes with a brainstorming activity, where participants discuss and generate ideas on how to implement boundary crossing in their unique settings, fostering a collaborative and dynamic exchange of perspectives.

The first workshop took place in Hasselt, Belgium, as part of an inspiration day organized by the Associatie Universiteit - Hogescholen Limburg (AUHL), in cooperation with Hasselt University and Hogeschool PXL. The inspiration day focused on multi- and interdisciplinary education: staff and teachers shared their experiences with boundary crossing (BC), focusing primarily on disciplinarity and inter-disciplinarity. One key topic was using BC to bridge the hierarchy gap within academic setting; on the other hand, another participant explored strategies to engage international students in her course, aiming to harness and integrate the diversity they bring into the learning environment.

The second workshop was held within WUR as an Inspirational Lunch workshop (organised by Teaching and Learning Centre). The session included individuals from various departments and roles, highlighting the importance of BC in fostering all kinds of collaborations. Participants discussed how language varies across cultural contexts and the need to adapt language when communicating research to external stakeholders. All in all, the relevance of BC for students was emphasized, particularly in enhancing their collaboration skills and preparing them for diverse work environments.

Both workshops were inspiring, shedding light on new kinds of boundaries derived from participants' experiences. BC seems to be highly relevant to everyday working life, where individuals frequently need to co-create with colleagues from different disciplines and departments.

In case you missed the workshop, there will be another Inspiration Lunch Session on Boundary Crossing. If you are interested, please save the date: 10 October 2024, 12:00-13:30. (This session is open for WUR colleagues only; at the time of publishing this news item, the registration for the workshop is not yet open. If you would like to stay updated on this, please drop an email to boundarycrossing@wur.nl)

This news item was jointly prepared by Camilla Ramezzano and Cassandra Tho, who were both involved in designing and conducting the workshop.